The Pittsburgh Parking Authority expects to have its long-awaited, 1,050-space Grant Street Transportation Center parking garage completed by the end of July and has scheduled a dedication ceremony for Aug. 19.

The authority's board voted today to free up $4.5 million to pay the final bills related to the garage-and-bus-station project.

The total cost of the garage, including buying the land and preparing the site, is expected to be $52.5 million, authority Executive Director David Onorato said.

He characterized that as somewhat higher than original projections for the center, which was proposed in 2003 but was delayed for two years while the city wrestled with financial issues that constrained authority borrowing. That delay boosted costs, he said.

The center is at Liberty Avenue and 11th Street, the once and future site of the Greyhound Lines Inc. station.

An electronic billboard and message board slated for the center are the subject of a July 24 public hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Lamar Advertising has built most of the billboard and wants to add the 2.5-foot-wide, 433-foot-long message board, which Mr. Onorato said would be handed over to the authority and used to inform people of available parking and events, or to post messages from sponsors.